Beached House

It’s as though this beautiful home by BKK Architects has “washed ashore” and “embedded” itself in the terrain.

What is a holiday home? Is it an escape? A home away from home? Or is it more ephemeral, an attitude? Well, all these things and more if you ask us. While not all of us are lucky enough to have our own holiday home, it’s always so refreshing to see a well-designed getaway.

For BKK Architects it was the journey from city to holiday house that informed the concept of Beached House.

“Entering this home begins with the decision to leave the city,” tells BKK Architects’ Julian Kosloff.

“The recurring ritual that plays out in the journey to the holiday home is integral to the conception of this house: the car and its contained interior; the stop off for provisions in the last town before arrival; getting out and unchaining the entry gate before driving onto the site; the wall that confronts them, the view denied; the welcoming gesture of the front portal wedge; and the final release to the view as one enters the main living spaces.”

The design of the home is described as “an exercise in volumetric origami” – a phrase which seems to describe perfectly the ‘folded’ spaces of the building, whether viewed from inside or out. The origami elements are anchored by the large masonry wall, which creates a spine for the building.

The unique internal spaces, with their angles and orientations, offer unusual framed vistas out to the landscape beyond. The home has been sited to work with prevailing weather and to capture the views creating “a sense that the home has been washed ashore and then embedded into the terrain, anchored against the elements”.

“Builders will always have ‘smoko’ in the most sheltered spot they can find,” Kosloff explains. “It was interesting to watch them occupy imaginary deck spaces before they were built. These casual occupations confirmed the climate analysis we’d done to determine the most appropriate spaces for outdoor recreation.”

These outdoor spaces offer both shelter and unique views of the landscape and the architecture.

We can’t think of anything better than lying in that beautiful bath, seeing the pool reach out to, appearing to almost touch, the coastal waters beyond.

There are a few magical houses we come across at habitusliving.com, those that are a perfect mix of simplicity and complex elements, those that engage intelligently with views and those that create liveable spaces. This is one of those gems.

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